Tag



Dec. 1 l, 1928.-

c. WENDELL TAG ' Filed June 6, 1928 Patented Dec. 11, 1928.

A nn rnn STATES" CONSTANT wEnDELL, oF'nEnHAM, MASSACHUSETTS.

Application filed June e, 1928. Serial naasaaso.

The invention to be hereinafter described relates to tags, and more. particularly to means for securing strings to tags without the necessity of knotting'the strings.

In Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,492,009, granted to me April 29, 1924, is shown a tag having a string secured thereto by a staple having prongs both-penetrating the tag, and a string betweena face, of the tag and the back of the prong, friction being relied upon to hold the string without the necessity of knotting the same.

A purpose of the present invention is to provide means for securing the string to the a tag much more securely and advantageously than by the means set forth in said patent.

An important use for these tags is in connection with small tea bagswhich contain a suflicient amount of tea for one or two cups. The string of the tag is secured to the top of the bag, and the tag may have thereon matter identifying the brand of the tea and the tea manufacturer, and also directions for use. Large numbers of these tea bags are thrown together at the factory where the bags are filled. When the bags are put in cartons for sale to hotels, anywhere from 100 to 500 bags I are put in each carton, and 25 bags are usually put in each carton for the retail consumer. The consequence is that many of the strings connecting the tags with the bags become en tangled, some tags are pulled from their strings, and separate removal of the bags from the carton is hindered. A factor contributing to tangling of the strings and tags was the liability of the strings to be caught between the strings and the faces of the tags adjacent the points of application of the staples to the tags. Another purpose of the invention, therefore, is to apply the staple to the tag to secure the string thereto in such a fashion as materially to reduce liability of tangling and catching of the strings of the tags on one another.

The character of the invention may be best understood by reference to the following description of one good form thereof shown in the accompanying drawing, where- 111:

Fig. l is the front face of a tag and its string and staple;

Fig. 2 is a back View of the tag showing the clenched over prongs of the staple;

Fig. 3 is a view looking toward the edge of the tag;

Fig. 4 is a view'of a tea bag'and a tag connected thereto F ig. 5 onan enlarged scale is a detail showing the staple connecting a string to the edge of a tag;

Fig. 6 is a transverse section taken on line I 6-6 of Fig. 5; and

Figs. 7 andIS'illustrate steps in making the I staple.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates a tag of cardboard or other suitable material having a string 3 secured tothe ,tag by a staple 5. This staple may be formed from ribbon stock 7 of fairly soft metal which is fed step-by-step through a machine such, for example, as is shown in the-above-mentioned patent. This machine has dies which incise the ribbon on end portions of the" dotted line 9 (Fig. 7), said line being oblique'to the length of the ribbon to provide the bevelled ends of the spurs 11. The die bends the spurs downward to their position shown in Fig. 7, completes the incision along the dotted line 9, thereby severing the staple from the ribbon, and asthe die'is brought down, the spurs are clenched over by an anvil beneath the die.

The tag is presented in aposition such that when the staple is brought'down, one of its spurs 13 will penetrate the tag, and the other of the spurs 15 will be bent over an edge'of the tag. The string is so guided that it is se- 'cured in the sharp bight 17 formed by the back of the staple and the spur 15, and the string is pinched and securely gripped in the bight, and is engaged at three sides,'and parengaged by the staple. Since the spur which penetrates the tag is at a substantial distance from the edge of the tag, there. is ample material between said spur and edge to prevent liabilitv of the staple being torn with a portion of the tag from the tag.

tially on a fourth side due'tobending in and In Fig. 1 is shown a tea bag 19 having a 7 string with one end'attached to the neck of thebag, and, its other end attached to the tag. It is found that when the strings are attached to the'tags by staples as described above, that the tendency for entangling of the strings when a number of the bags are thrown together is materially reduced.

In the tag of said patent, a fairly stifi', hard metal was required in making the staples, since the pressure of the back of the staple against the face of the tag was relied upon to pinch the string and hold the same between them. If flexible metal were employed, the back of the staple would be liable to bend or ease away from the face of the tag and release the string. The method of applying the staples of the present invention to the tag enables a softer metal to be used which is cheaper has less wear on thecutters ofthe machine for forming the staples, and enables faster operation of the machine.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiment shown, and that various deviations may be made therefrom without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination of a tag; a staple formed of narrow ribbon metal having a back extending along a face of the tag-to and slightly beyond an edge of the tag a short prong enteredthrough the tag and clenched against the tag, and a short prong extending over an edge of the tag and clenched against the tag adJacent said edge; and a string at the edge of the tag pinched by and positively held between the portion of the back of the staple beyond the edge of the tag and the prong extending over said edge and clenched against the tag, said string and staple being of about the same width and said string having a short free end portion extending beyond the staple.

2. The combination of a tag, a staple formed of relatively soft narrow ribbon metal having a back extending along a face of the tag to and slightly beyond the edge thereof, and having a short prong entered through the tag and clenched thereagainst, and a short prong extending over an edgeof the tag and clenched against the tag adjacent said edge; a string at the edge of the tag inched by and positively held between the portion of the back of the staple beyond the edge of the tag and the prong extending over said edge and clenched against the tag.

CONSTANT WENDELL. 

